Rabbi Avraham HaLevi Berukhim was a Kabbalist of Tzfat’s golden age, a disciple of the Ramak and of the Arizal. Because he came from North Africa he was also known as Rabbi Avraham Mograbi (“the Maghrebi”).
He is remembered for his fervent devotion. According to the accounts of the Tzfat Kabbalists, he would go through the streets at midnight calling out to the people to rise for Tikkun Chatzot, the midnight lament over the destruction of the Temple, and on Friday afternoons he urged the people to prepare for Shabbat.
A well-known story tells that when he fell gravely ill, the Arizal told him that he would live if he went to Jerusalem and prayed at the Western Wall. There, it is said, he saw a vision of the Shechinah as a woman in mourning, and he recovered and lived for many more years. He passed away in Tzfat before 1600.
